Dumb (Nirvana song)

"Dumb" is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the sixth song on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero, released in 1993.

"Dumb"
Song by Nirvana
from the album In Utero
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1993 (1993-09-13)
RecordedFebruary 13–26, 1993
StudioPachyderm, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
Genre
Length2:29
LabelDGC
Songwriter(s)Kurt Cobain
Producer(s)Steve Albini
In Utero track listing
12 tracks
  1. "Serve the Servants"
  2. "Scentless Apprentice"
  3. "Heart-Shaped Box"
  4. "Rape Me"
  5. "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle"
  6. "Dumb"
  7. "Very Ape"
  8. "Milk It"
  9. "Pennyroyal Tea"
  10. "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter"
  11. "tourette's"
  12. "All Apologies"

Despite never being released as a single, the song reached number 37 on the US Alternative National Airplay chart, which was published by the Billboard sister publication, Radio & Records.[3]

Origin and recording

"Dumb" was written by Cobain in the summer of 1990, after he had begun to explore the more pop-influenced side of his songwriting.[4] Two lyrics sheets for the song were published posthumously in Journals in November 2002, one under the working title of "I Think I'm Dumb," with a note that the lyrics were "Not Finished," and the titles of two songs by Scottish rock band the Vaselines, "Molly's Lips" and "Slushy," written under the title with no explanation.[5]

The song was debuted live on September 25, 1990, when Cobain performed a solo acoustic version on the Boy Meets Girl show, hosted by Calvin Johnson of the American rock band Beat Happening, on KAOS (FM) in Olympia, Washington.[4][6][7] The first live version featuring the full band was at the Off Ramp Café in Seattle, Washington on November 25, 1990.[7]

On September 3, 1991, the band recorded a version of the song, already featuring finished lyrics, during their second John Peel session for the BBC at Maida Vale Studios in London.[8] The full session, which also featured versions of "Drain You" and "Endless Nameless" from their then-latest release, Nevermind, was produced by Dale Griffin, and first broadcast on November 3, 1991.[7] Three studio versions of the song were recorded by Jack Endino on October 26, 1992, at Word of Mouth in Seattle, Washington, but all were instrumental, as were all the other songs recorded during this session, except for one take of "Rape Me".[9]

The final studio version of "Dumb" was recorded by Steve Albini at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota in February 1993, and was released on In Utero in September 1993. The recording features Kera Schaley on cello, who also played on the album's closing track, "All Apologies." All subsequent live versions of both songs featured cello, although never by Schaley, who did not tour with the band.

On November 18, 1993, the band performed an acoustic version of "Dumb" during their MTV Unplugged appearance at Sony Music Studios in New York City. This version featured Pat Smear on second guitar and Lori Goldston on cello. The song was performed, along with "Serve the Servants," at Nirvana's final television appearance, on February 23, 1994 in Rome, Italy for the RAI television show, Tunnel. This version featured Melora Creager on cello.

"Dumb" was performed for the final time live at Nirvana's last concert, on March 1, 1994 at Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany.

Composition and lyrics

Music

Journalist Gillian G. Gaar noted that "Dumb" was one of the few Nirvana songs to remain "low-key from beginning to end," comparing it to the Bleach song, "About a Girl."[10] Like "About a Girl,"[11] the song has been described as "Beatlesque."[12] Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic called it "a beautiful song. That's a really good one. I like the BBC version of the song. It's real raw, but still the beauty is strong. A sweet pop song."[13]

Describing the In Utero version, John Mulvey of the NME wrote that the song "broods and circles, with the aid of a cello, like a baroque parody of 'Lithium'. Again and again it builds up and up, primed to explode into a moshing sweatfest of a chorus, and again and again it ducks away from that commercially lucrative macho bonding rite."[14] Likewise, Jim Bevigilia of American Songwriter wrote that "the recording of the song on In Utero is all coiled tension. Even though you expect Cobain’s guitar to come crashing through to break it, it never quite does. Instead, a cello runs counterpoint to the steady rhythm section of Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and to the protagonist’s insistence that maybe he’s happy after all."[15]

Lyrics

In a 1993 interview with Melody Maker, Cobain explained that the song was "just about people who're easily amused, people who not only aren't capable of progressing their intelligence but are totally happy watching 10 hours of television and really enjoy it. I've met a lot of dumb people. They have a shitty job, they may be totally lonely, they don't have a girlfriend, they don't have much of a social life, and yet, for some reason, they're happy."[16][17][18]

Though written before Cobain's addiction to heroin,[12] "Dumb" is also one of the few Nirvana songs to directly reference drug use.[7] In Cobain's unused liner notes for the song, he blamed "all that supposedly unaddictive, harmless" marijuana for harming his nerves and damaging his memory, saying it "wasn't ever strong enough" which led him to "climb the ladder" to heroin.[19]

In 2015, Kurt's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, offered her own interpretation of the song in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying, "I cry every time I hear that song. It's a stripped-down version of Kurt's perception of himself – of himself on drugs, off drugs, feeling inadequate to be titled the voice of a generation."[20]

Reception

In his review of In Utero for Rolling Stone, David Fricke cited "Dumb," along with "Heart-Shaped Box," as evidence that if Generation X "is ever going to have its own Lennon...Cobain is damn near it."[1]

In a 1993 Rolling Stone interview, Cobain told Fricke that he wished he had put more songs like "Dumb" and "All Apologies" on previous Nirvana albums, saying that Nirvana had so far "failed in showing the lighter, more dynamic side of our band."[21]

Though never released as a single, "Dumb" has become a popular song on American alternative rock radio,[22] and was played on European radio.[23][24][25] It was ranked at number 39 on WHFS's top 100 played songs of 1994,[26] number 41 on KROQ-FM’s top 100 played songs of 1994,[27] number 56 on Q101's top 100 played songs of 1994,[28] and number 82 on 91X's top 100 played songs of 1994.[29] "Dumb" was also ranked at number 381 on Live 105's Top 500 songs in 1994,[30] as well as at number 266 on Live 105's Top 300 Revolutionary songs in 1995,[31] and also at number 220 on WHFS's Top 500 songs of the 90s in 1999.[32] The combined airplay in 1994 allowed the song to chart at number 37 on the US Alternative National Airplay chart which was published by Radio & Records,[3] a sister publication to Billboard.

Legacy

Reviewing the band's first greatest hits album, Nirvana, in 2002, Will Bryant of Pitchfork wrote that "Dumb" was "one of Cobain's most underrated efforts, a populist revision of "Lithium" that replaces Nevermind's misanthropy with earnest self-deprecation." Bryant praised Kera Schaley's cello playing as the song's "secret weapon," and the bridge as "hands down, Cobain's best."[33]

In 2004, "Dumb" was ranked number seven in Q's list of the 10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever.[34] In 2011, NME ranked it sixth on their list of the Nirvana's 10 Best Tracks.[35] In 2015, it was listed at number 20 on Rolling Stone's ranking of 102 Nirvana songs.[36] In 2019, The Guardian ranked it ninth on their list of Nirvana's 20 greatest songs.[37]

"Dumb" was re-released on the band's second greatest hits collection, Icon, in August 2010.

In 2017, to mark what would have been Cobain's 50th birthday, the Phonographic Performance Limited released a list of the top 20 most played Nirvana songs on the TV and radio in the United Kingdom, in which "Dumb" was ranked at number 19.[38]

MTV Unplugged version

While not released as a commercial or promotional single, the MTV Unplugged version of "Dumb" was sent to Canadian radio stations in 1995 on the promotional CD compilation, MCA Music Manager (Canadian Music Week Special Compilation).[39]

Charts
Chart (1993–94) Peak
position
UK Airplay Top 100 (Hit Music)[40] 92
US Alternative National Airplay (Radio & Records)[3] 37

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2004 Q United Kingdom High Spirits: 10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever[34] 7
2011 NME Nirvana: Their 10 Best Tracks[35] 6
2019 The Guardian Nirvana's 20 greatest songs - ranked![37] 9

Personnel

Nirvana

Additional personnel

  • Kera Schaley – cello

Recording and release history

Demo and studio versions
Date recorded Studio Producer/recorder Releases Personnel
September 25, 1990 Boy Meets Girl, KAOS (FM), The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington Calvin Johnson Unreleased[A]
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)
September 3, 1991 Maida Vale Studios, London, England Dale Griffin With the Lights Out (2004)
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)
  • Krist Novoselic (bass)
  • Dave Grohl (drums)
October 26, 1992 Word of Mouth Productions, Seattle, Washington[A] Jack Endino In Utero (Deluxe) (2013)
  • Kurt Cobain (guitar)
  • Krist Novoselic (bass)
  • Dave Grohl (drums)
February 12–26, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, Minnesota Steve Albini In Utero (1993)
Nirvana (2002)
Icon (2010)
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)
  • Krist Novoselic (bass)
  • Dave Grohl (drums)
  • Kera Schaley (cello)

Live versions
Date recorded Venue Releases Personnel
August 30, 1992 Reading Festival, Reading, England Live at Reading (2009)
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)
  • Krist Novoselic (bass)
  • Dave Grohl (drums, backing vocals)
November 10, 1993 Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, Massachusetts From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (vinyl) (1996)[B]
November 18, 1993 Sony Music Studios, New York City, New York MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)
MCA Music Manager (Canadian Music Week Special Compilation) (promotional)[39]
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)
  • Krist Novoselic (bass)
  • Dave Grohl (drums, backing vocals)
  • Pat Smear (guitar)
  • Lori Goldston (cello)
February 23, 1994 Tunnel, RAI, Rome, Italy Unreleased
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)
  • Krist Novoselic: (bass)
  • Dave Grohl (drums, backing vocals)
  • Pat Smear (guitar)
  • Melora Creager (cello)

Notes

^ This is one of the three instrumental versions recorded during this session; the other two remain unreleased.

^ A brief clip of Cobain stopping the song after accidentally repeating the second verse, then apologizing to the audience, appears on Side 4 of the vinyl release.

Cover versions

In 2016, Best Coast covered the song for Summer Is Forever 2.

References
  1. Fricke, David (16 September 1993). "In Utero". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  2. Graff, Gary (13 September 2013). "Nirvana's 'In Utero' At 20: Classic Track-By-Track Review". Billboard.
  3. "Alternative National Airplay" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. 17 June 1994. p. 70. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  4. Crisafulli (1996). p. 93.
  5. Cobain, Kurt (2002). Journals. USA: Riverhead Books. pp. 109, 193. ISBN 978-1-57322-232-7.
  6. St. Thomas (2004). p. 66.
  7. Gillian G. Gaar (2009).
  8. St. Thomas (2004). p. 107.
  9. Gaar (2006). pp.17, 18, 19, 20.
  10. Gaar (2006). p. 18.
  11. Barker, Emily (27 July 2018). "Nirvana – the story of every album track". NME. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  12. Azerrad, Michael (1994). Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday. p. 321. ISBN 0-385-47199-8.
  13. Gaar (2006). p. 59.
  14. Mulvey, John. "Nirvana : In Utero – 04/09/93". NME (4 September 1993). Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  15. Beviglia, Jim. "Behind The Song: Nirvana, "Dumb"". American Songwriter. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  16. "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  17. Barker, Emily. "Nirvana - the story of every album track". NME. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  18. "The 50 Best Nirvana Songs". Pigeons and Planes. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  19. Cross, Charles R (15 August 2001). Heavier Than Heaven. United States: Hyperion. p. 270. ISBN 0-7868-6505-9.
  20. Fricke, David. "Frances Bean Cobain on Life After Kurt's Death: Exclusive". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  21. Fricke, David (27 January 1994). "Kurt Cobain, The Rolling Stone Interview: Success Doesn't Suck". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  22. Luerssen, John D. (2014). Nirvana FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important Band of the 1990s. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 343. ISBN 978-1-61713-588-0.
  23. Music & Media – Station Reports (PDF). Music & Media. 9 October 1993. p. 16. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  24. Music & Media – Station Reports (PDF). Music & Media. 16 October 1993. p. 26. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  25. Music & Media – Station Reports (PDF). Music & Media. 19 November 1994. p. 28. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  26. WHFS Top 100 of 1994 rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  27. KROQ’s Top 100 of 1994 rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  28. Q101's Top 100 of 1994 rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  29. 91X's Top 100 of 1994 rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  30. Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (1994) rocklists.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  31. Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (1995) rocklists.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  32. WHFS Top 500 of the 90s (1999) rocklists.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  33. Bryant, Will. "Nirvana - Nirvana". Pitchforkmedia. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  34. "123: High Spirits - 10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever". Q. 2004. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  35. Elan, Priya (7 September 2011). "Nirvana – Their 10 Best Tracks". NME. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  36. Powell, Mike (8 April 2015). "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  37. Petridis, Alexis (20 June 2019). "Nirvana's 20 greatest songs - ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  38. 20 most-played Nirvana songs revealed to mark Kurt Cobain’s 50th birthday planetrock.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  39. "Various – MCA Music Manager (Canadian Music Week Special Compilation)". Discogs. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  40. "Radio Activity". Hit Music. Hit Music. October 9, 1993. Retrieved February 2, 2020. The official UK airplay chart

Bibliography
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